Seagate Surges on Buyout Hopes

Shares of Seagate Technology (NYSE:STX) surged 15% on Friday morning after the data storage company revealed it has been approached about a possible buyout from a private-equity firm.

The Irish maker of hard disk drives said after Thursday’s close that it has received a “preliminary indication of interest regarding a going private transaction.”

Seagate said it has entered into talks with the unnamed private-equity firm and its board of directors is “evaluating” the offer and “other strategic alternatives.”

According to The Wall Street Journal, private-equity firms Silver Lake Partners and TPG had been in talks to take Seagate private, but those talks collapsed over price differences. TPG is still involved in the current talks, the paper reported.

Seagate said it has retained Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Perella Weinberg Partners for financial advice on a potential deal.

However, Seagate warned “there is no assurance” it will receive a formal offer or that a deal will take place. Seagate said it won’t provide additional comment about the preliminary indication of interest.

Despite those cautionary statements, Seagate’s stock surged 16.47% to $14.80 Friday morning. Even with those gains, the Dublin-based company’s shares have tumbled 30% on the year.

With a market cap of nearly $6 billion, a deal to take Seagate private would rank as one of the largest PE deals in tech history, the Journal reported.